whats wrong with this picture? lol

homoped /
harold
Oct 23, 2007 02:54AM

so i redid the wiring on the magnum with braided cord 16 gauge. got about 2/3rds of the way done. started to connect the headlight switch. got a little spark but being new to 12v wiring i didnt pay much attention. connected it and the light on the switch came on even though the switch was off. weird i thought. so i connected it with the lights lit up. turned the switch off and POOF! every single wire started to smoke and melt. i grabbed my lether welding glove and yanked the whole harness off.

wasted 10-15$ worth of electrical stuff. scared the shit out of me.

anyway can you tell what went wrong by the pic?

spoiler!!!

lol. so i connected the power to the ground on the switch. i did bad physics in my head. i looked at the guide on the closest switch and assumed to mirror it on the other one. not thinking that they both faced the same way. anyway it meleted plastic to a couple parts of the tube frame but they arent visable.

lesson learned.

!

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

homoped /
harold OP
Oct 23, 2007 02:56AM

ALSO!

so wtf. i took a close look at my battery. it says do NOT use an automotive/marine charger. i have a scooter charger so... wtf does that mean?

i thought that the battery charged up pretty fast when i plugged it in. light turned green withing 20-30 minutes.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

maciek /
macelius
Oct 23, 2007 04:12AM

Fuse all the circuits and start wiring from the fuse box so you don't melt the wires again.

batterry charger has to have "slow" or "trickle" low amperage charge mode for the lil moped/scoot (and slightly bigger motorcycle batteries too) so they don't overheat. My battery charger has 6amp or 2 amp for 12v, i use the 2amp which is 30 min "quick" charge for battery, works fine, slow charge is like ten hours at .4amp or something silly.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

terry dean /
dean
Oct 23, 2007 05:07AM

i can't even tell what's going on in that pic..

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

m6onz5a /
m6onz5a
Oct 23, 2007 05:20AM

Was the battery warm/hot after the quick charge? You probably charged it at 6 or 10 amps which is a quick charge. A 2 amp charge is the best way to go. The slower the charge the longer the battery will last. And with the 2 amp charge you can leave it on all day.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

Dan T /
huhu
Oct 23, 2007 07:59AM

Out here in the east we call that being a dumb shit LOL!

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

Rian Nickels /
ryann
Oct 23, 2007 11:51AM

you let the smoke out of the wires

it's really hard to put back

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

peter /
peter
Oct 23, 2007 12:16PM

did you toast the coil?

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

mk /
mk
Oct 23, 2007 12:18PM

A single main fuse (10 A or so) right in series with the battery (+) before it goes anywhere else will be sufficient protection against burnt wires. You want a charger that's only 1 or 2 amps to charge those small batteries. Larger ones can overheat the battery, that's what the label is talking about.

I can't tell much from the picture either. No offense, but my first impression is that that wiring is "shoddy". Make sure to use the proper crimp tool on those connectors, if you just mash them with pliers you get a bad connection. Also strip less off of the wire so the insulation of the wire goes partway into the connector, then you don't need to apply tape later.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

Curly T /
curlyt
Oct 23, 2007 01:03PM

Mike is right, be sure to use the proper tool for those crimp connectors. I prefer to use uninsulated connectors and cover them with shrink tubing. That way you can be sure the crimp is tight, and it simply looks finished.

-Curly

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

homoped /
harold OP
Oct 23, 2007 01:06PM

ok, so buy crimpers and buy better terminals. the ones i were using were too small. so i coundt fit 2 wires in them. thats why everything is all slpiced and shit.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

Silverfox Sullivan /
silverfox
Oct 23, 2007 02:40PM

Yup! You grounded the battery through the switch.

Everyone is correct, on a battery circuit you need a fuse right after the battery.

And yes, depending on the size of the battery you can over-amp it.

On a smallish battery you should probably not charge it at a rate higher than 1 amp.

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whats wrong with this picture? lol

brystheguy /
brystheguy
Oct 23, 2007 03:02PM

Note to Self: Do not ask Harold to install my new car stereo.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

Ratbiker. /
tikiman
Oct 23, 2007 03:20PM

yea, the amperage in those big batteries is scary to work with if you make a mistake. not very forgiving.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

homoped /
harold OP
Oct 23, 2007 03:28PM

well it doesnt say on my charger how many amps it charges at. anyway to find out?

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

Ratbiker. /
tikiman
Oct 23, 2007 03:33PM

use an ammeter?

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

peter /
peter
Oct 23, 2007 06:34PM

meter it

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

YGMPC /
maxirider309
Oct 23, 2007 10:53PM

Common Harold. Make a single ground from every switch, crimp on female spade terminals onto BLACK wire. and then on the other end of that put a ring terminal or w,e style of connection you want to make. Make sure you color code the wires as black only for ground and red for everything else. once the ground is set then theres no way to mess up. each switch is labeled on the sides by the terminal as to what you should input. Ground, source, and switch. Is there any outputs from the motor that are going to be grounded to the frame? If there isn't then you can just ground the switches to the frame. Make good consistent crimps use zip-ties to organize your wires. Also depending on were the switches are going to be you can run two heavier gauge wires to the switch board directly from the battery 14? 12 ?gauge and then just split everything off from those two with 16guage wire. Call me if you don't get something.

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Re: whats wrong with this picture? lol

YGMPC /
maxirider309
Oct 23, 2007 10:55PM

p.s Fuck a fuse for such a minor application you should trust yourself to not have to use fuses. also strip 1/4 inch of the wire so there is not bare wire showing past the insulated housing of the terminals. Also please tell me you actually have a crimper and are not just using diagonal cutters.

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